England
Who will be in Eddie Jones' England backroom staff?
Tom Hamilton
November 23, 2015
© (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

One of Eddie Jones' first tasks as England coach will be to settle on his backroom staff. He will be given as near to carte blanche as possible by the RFU to form his coaching dream team with one eye on the 2019 World Cup and succession. He will know some coaches well from his time at Saracens while he would have brushed shoulders with other contenders during his 20-year spell in rugby management.

"I've got to pick the right staff," Jones said on Friday. "Ian [Ritchie, RFU CEO] and I have had good discussions on it. There are enough good English coaches there to pick from. I don't need to go outside England to do that, generally speaking. That's what we'll be aiming to do.

"I've got to appraise the coaches who are in place first. Then I'll work out if we need to make changes. If we need to make changes, I'll make changes. If we don't need to make changes then we'll run with them. Obviously I know Andy Farrell well, I coached him at Sarries."

The predicted make-up of his brains trust is likely to see three assistant coaches appointed alongside peripatetic specialists. The trio would probably focus on the forwards, England's defence and attack.

Forwards

© AFP PHOTO / DAMIEN MEYER

Graham Rowntree is currently the man in charge of England's pack and has a contract through to 2020. Having also coached the British & Irish Lions and been a part of the England set-up since 2008, Jones may opt for consistency in this department. But the front-row struggled in the recent World Cup and the new England coach could bring in a fresh face.

Steve Borthwick was the mastermind behind Japan's forwards in their successful World Cup campaign but has just joined Bristol. His coaching career is still in its infancy, so he could be one of the specialists who is drafted in around Test windows. His lineout knowledge is unparalleled. Marc del Maso worked under Jones with Japan and could be an option to preside over their scrum.

Other contenders would be Exeter Chiefs supremo Rob Baxter or Worcester's Dean Ryan. Both would fit the mould for succession planning and are some of the finest brains in English rugby but they would have to leave their positions as director of rugby for an assistant role. Ryan speaking recently on Sky Sports said he is committed to the Warriors project. At Saracens there is Alex Sanderson whom Jones brought in during his time there, or at Northampton there is scrum guru and ex-England hooker Dorian West.

Defence

© Steve Bardens - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images

Andy Farrell was name-checked by Jones as someone he had worked with before during his time at Saracens and despite the disastrous World Cup campaign, England's current attack and defence coach is highly rated. Jones may see him as someone who should focus on England's defence - the area in which he specialised during the Lions' 2013 tour of Australia. Like Rowntree, he is contracted until 2020.

Then there is Paul Gustard, another figure brought in by Jones while at Saracens. He is the architect behind their 'wolf pack' method of defence and also looks after Sarries' forwards. His ethos sees a united approach to defence with brutal force unleashed by two players on the opponent who is attempting to recycle ball at the breakdown.

And then there is Shaun Edwards. He is regarded as one of the finest minds in the game and was lost to the Welsh Rugby Union in 2008 where he linked up with his former Wasps mentor Warren Gatland. His contract is now up with the WRU and they are keen to keep Edwards on the Wales side of the Severn Bridge so Jones will have to act quickly if he is to secure his services.

Attack

Mike Catt points instructions on the Pennyhill Park training field
Mike Catt points instructions on the Pennyhill Park training field© Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images

Farrell presides over England's attack at present along with skills coach Mike Catt, also on a deal until 2020. The general feeling was that Catt's brilliant rugby brain was underused in the Lancaster regime. Jones will have a good knowledge of the 75-cap England international given Catt was in the 2003 side that beat his Australia side.

There are fewer obvious contenders for this role than in the defence and forwards department. Harlequins' Mark Mapletoft could be an option as could Northampton's Alex King, who has also worked at Clermont. Looking further afield, Steve Meehan holds that role at Toulon and knows the Premiership well having worked at Bath.

© Tom Hamilton

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.